Bracket for supporting curtain rails



March 25, 1952 R. J. MURPHY BRACKET FOR SUPPORTING CURTAIN RAILS Filed May 29, 1948 arlwlav INVENTOFP.

AGENT.

Patented Mar. 25, 1 952 AILS Reginald John Murphy, Birmingham, England, assignor to Harrison (Birmingham) Limited, Birmingham, England, a British company Application May 29, 1948, Serial No. 30,117 In Great Britain June '7, 1947 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to brackets for supporting curtain rails, and refers more particularly to that kind of bracket used for supporting rails which are flanged or grooved at or near the upper edge, the bracket having an attachment portion adapted to be secured to the fixed structure formed by the upper part of the window frame, and having a portion adapted to embrace the top of the rail and engage over the flange, or engage in the groove of the rail.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction.

According to the present invention the railengaging portion of the bracket comprises a portion for engaging over the outer side of the top of the rail, and a separate retaining member movably mounted on the bracket for engaging the inner side of the top of the rail and adapted to moveautomatically into its gripping position when, the bracket is secured to the fixed structure.

The attachment portion of the bracket may be constructed so that it can be fixed to a vertical face (face fixing), or it may be made so that it can be fixed to an approximately horizontal face (top fixing). Preferably the attachment portion of the bracket is so made that it can be used either for face fixing or top fixing. In a bracket of this kind the bracket may comprise two members, one forming a bracket member and incorporating the attachment portion, an arm extending from the attachment portion and terminating in a portion for engaging the outer side of the rail top and the other member consisting of a slide mounted on the bottom of the bracket and guided for sliding movement thereon in an endwise direction, the slide at one end being adapted to engage the rail and at the opposite end being capable of projectingbeyond the face of the attachment portion which is adapted to be secured against the face of the fixed structure, so that when ascrew is inserted through the attachment portion to secure the said face against the fixed structure, the slide is automatically displaced by reason of the fact that the end thereof which projects beyond the face of the attachment portion comes into contact with the face of the fixed structure, causing the slide to be moved outwardly from the said face, and causing its other end to move into gripping contact with the rail; and, further, one end of the slide is mounted so that it can move towards and away from the bottom of the bracket member, and one of these two members, i. e. either the slide or the bracket, is provided with an inclined part cooperating with an abutment on the other member, so that when top fixing is used the slide forming the retaining member is moved by the fixing screw towards the bottom of the bracket, causing the said inclined part to displace the slide in an endwise direction into its ra -e m .ineposition The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing the bracket fixed to a vertical surface and supporting a curtain rail;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the bracket before it is fastened in position;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the bracket and the slide; and

Figure 5 is a plan view.

In the construction illustrated the bracket member includes an attachment portion I0, which may be formed as three sides of a square. 7 This bracket member may be made of a strip of metal, a portion of which is bent to form the attachment portion, while another portion II is bent to form the fourth side of the square and terminates in a portion I2 which is bent into channel form and provides an edge I3 which is directed towards the attachment portion.

At the opposite end the strip is bent at right angles, at I4, to one side of the attachment portion, and is then bent at right angles, at I5, again, this last portion It being of reduced width and being slotted, at IT, at opposite edges so as to produce a neck portion 9. This portion Qextends through an opening I8 in the part II, and the portion I6 is employed to secure the two portions II and I4 of the strip together. The end of the strip has two parallel slits between which the portion I6 is disposed, and the metal 8 on the outer sides of the slits extends across and in contact with the upper side of the part I I and resists any tendency for it to be bent upwardly.

Further, at one corner of the approximately square attachment portion the strip is slotted inwardly from opposite edges, as shown at I9. All four sides of the square are provided with openings 20 approximately at the centre for receiving the fixing screw. The arrangement is such that one side of the attachment portion can be secured by a fixing screw 2| passing through opposite sides of the attachment portion to a vertical face 22, and another side or top of the attachment portion can be secured to a horizontal surface for top fixing by a vertical screw 23 passing through the top and bottom sides of the attachment portion.

The channel-section portion at one end of the strip is adapted to be engaged over one side of the usual flange 24 provided at the top of the curtain rail 25, the lower edge I3 of the channelsection portion engaging beneath the said flange.

The second member 26 of the bracket forms a slide and is formed as a strip of metal, and this strip is doubled upon itself at a suitable position 21 to provide upper and lower arms 28, 29. The lower arm 29 is mounted beneath the bottom of the bracket member and is kept in engagement therewith by slotting one end of the arm, as

shown at 30, the slot being of a width to engage the neck 9 of the downwardly-bent T section portion I6 formed on the bracket. This end of the arm 29 is bent into an upward curve terminating in a downwardly-inclined portion having an end which can engage beneath the rail flange 24. 7

The second or upper arm 28 of the strip forming the slide is provided with an inclined portion 3| adjacent the bend formed by doubling the strip, and with an end portion 32 which is parallel to the lower arm 29.

This upper arm 28 of the slide is slotted centrally at 33, and the metal on either side of the slot engages in the grooves or notches l9 at the corner of the attachment portion of the bracket.

The slide 26 forming the retaining member is further slotted centrally and longitudinally at 34 so as to provide an opening through which the fixing screw can be inserted for top fixing, the slot allowing the slide to move in an endwise direction as the screw is inserted.

With the construction described the slide 263 can be moved into a position in which one of its ends 21 projects from one end face of the attachment portion ll] of the bracket. The upper and lower arms '28, 29 of the slide are spaced apart, the end portion 32 of the upper arm 28 engaging the upper surface of the lower limb H of the bracket. When face fixing is used the projecting portion 21 at one end of the slide comes into contact with the fixed structure of the window frame and the slide is forced along in an endwise direction until its opposite end 35 engages under one side of the flange 24 of the curtain rail. In this way the fiange of the curtain rail is gripped between the channelsection portion l2 of the bracket and the end 35 of the slide.

When top fixing is used the insertion of the fixing screw from below and through the slot 34 in the slide and the openings in the top and bottom of the attachment portion gradually forces the doubled-over end 27 of the slide upwardly, causing its inclined portion 3| to engage abutment formed by the upper edges 36 of the slots H! in one corner of the attachment portion. As the fixing screw is inserted the slide is moved along automatically by the force produced by the pressure between the inclined part 31 and the edges 36, in an endwise direction, causing the end 29 of it to grip the curtain rail.

Brackets constructed in accordance with the present invention enable the curtain rail to be placed in position by moving it transversely to its length. In other words, it is not necessary to slide the curtain rails into the brackets in an endwise direction. This feature enables the brackets to be mounted on the fixed structure before the rail is placed in position. If this practice is adopted the brackets are first secured to the fixed structure either by face fixing or top fixing, but the fixing screws are not driven home, so that the retaining member of each bracket will be in a position to enable the rail to be placed in position between the gripping portions of the slide and the bracket. When the rail is in position the fixing screws are driven home, causing the slide to move endwise and to grip the rail firmly.

Although the construction in accordance with this invention enable the brackets to be fixed 4 to the fixed structure before the rail is placed in position, should the operator prefer to do so he can mount the brackets on the rail prior to fixing the, brackets to the fixed structure.

The construction in accordance with this invention can be carried into effect by shaping and bending two strips of metal so that the bracket can be cheaply produced and assembled; and, further, the bracket are fixed and the rail is grippedby inserting a single screw through the attachment portion of each bracket.

What I claim then is:

1. A bracket for supporting a curtain rail having a flanged top comprising a strip of metal bent at a position between its ends to form a rectangular loop forming an attachment portion and having two end portions which are disposed in contact and form an arm projecting from said attachment portion, one of said end portions being bent at the end into a channel for engaging over one side of the rail flange, opposite edges of the strip being slotted at one corner of the loop, and a retaining member formed as a strip having one end bent at an acute angle to the plane of said strip, said end having a longitudinal slot and projecting into said rectangular loop at its slotted corner, the sides of the slot in the retaining member being guided on the ends of the slots in the corner of the loop, and further guiding means on the arm for guiding the other end of the retaining member, said retaining member being capable of projecting beyond the end face of said loop, both pairs of opposite sides of the loop having holes for a securing screw, whereby when a screw is passed through either pair of holes and secures the bracket to a fixed structure the retaining member is moved endwise so that it grips the rail.

2. A bracket for supporting a curtain rail having a flanged top comprising a strip of metal bent at one position into open rectangular form opposite sides of which have screw holes, this rectangular part forming an attachment portion which can be secured to a vertical or to a horizontal surface, an arm formed by the two end portions of the strip, said arm having a channelshaped end for engaging over one edge of the curtain rail flange, a slide movably mounted and guided on the arm for engaging the other edge of the curtain rail flange, one end of said slide projecting beyond the end face of the attachment portion before the bracket is fixed, said end having a portion which is inclined to a side of the rectangular attachment portion and which projects into it at one corner, said inclined por-. tion engaging a surface of the attachment portion, whereby the bracket is secured and the slide is moved into the rail-gripping position by the insertion of the fixing screw through either pair of screw holes.

REGINALD JOHN MURPHY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,712,658 French May 14, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS.

Number Country Date 401,760 Great Britain Nov. 23, 1923 497,606 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1938 506,626 Great Britain June 1, 1939 516,552 Great Britain Jan. 4, 1940 

